lschemic stroke is a major cause of death and disability. Stroke is associated with a 19% 30-day mortality rate and a $30 billion annual cost. To reduce the impact of stroke, it is important to examine its risk factors, including insulin resistance and diabetes. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of insulin resistance, with or without type II diabetes, on systemic blood inflammatory markers in relation to stroke and reperfusion injury severity using a mouse model of cerebral artery occlusion. An experimental design will be used to examine animal models of type II diabetes (db/db mouse) and insulin resistance without diabetes (ob/ob mouse) on stroke and blood inflammatory markers during cerebral ischemia and reperfusion injury. Two research questions are posed: 1) Does insulin resistance with and without diabetes affect the level of blood inflammatory markers at baseline, during stroke, and reperfusion? and 2) does insulin resistance with and without diabetes effect the severity of stroke and reperfusion injury? The overarching goal of this research is to identify potential biomarkers and treatment modalities in people with insulin resistance with or without diabetes, to potentially decrease their risk of developing and lessen the severity of stroke. [unreadable] [unreadable]